Racist Detroit EMS Captain Reinstated After Termination

Angry subordinates are raising concerns.

There’s good reason for Detroit EMS workers to be concerned about the return of former Fire EMS Captain Tim Goodman, who was suspended and then fired for posting racist content on his Facebook page, WXYZ-TV reported.

“There’s a lot of anger right now, a lot of fear and people are concerned about their livelihood,” a longtime Detroit Fire and EMS employee said, speaking anonymously out of fear of backlash and on behalf of co-workers.

Detroit Fire EMS Captain Tim Goodman fired for posting more than 100 racist posts including a photo of a boy holding a goat with the caption "when your little car bomber brings home his first girlfriend"and many others, gets his EMS job back. https://t.co/ShptiIwhXb

Goodman, who was suspended in May, is getting back his job after winning an arbitration hearing. He had allegedly posted dozens racist images and remarks, including a photo of a boy holding a goat with a caption that read “when your little car bomber brings home his first girlfriend.” Amy Doukoure of the Council on American Islamic Relations accused him of posting more than 70 racist messages on his personal Facebook page and lodged a complaint. City officials were also outraged and removed Goodman from his position.

Fire Commissioner Eric Jones is not pleased that Goodman has his job back, saying that his hands are tied in this situation. Goodman’s termination “was subject to the labor arbitration process under the collective bargaining agreement,” he said in a statement. It was the arbitrator’s decision to return Goodman to his position. The ABC news affiliate pressed Jones on the legitimate concerns about how Goodman, as a manager, will handle discipline, as well as making personnel and life-saving decisions given his bias. Jones shifted the burden of answering those question to the union or the arbitrator who compelled the department to reinstate Goodman.